Grain cleaner



Dec. 24, 1968 H. J. DoNELsoN, JR 3,417,868

GRAIN CLEANER Filed June 6, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 24, 1968 H. J.DoNELsoN, JR 3,417,868

GRAIN CLEANER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 6, 1966 United States Patent3,417,868 GRAIN CLEANER Harlan J. Donelson, Jr., W. Highway 330,Marshalltown, Iowa 50158 Filed June 6, 1966, Ser. No. 555,628 Claims.(Cl. 209-28) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A grain cleaner adapted to cleangrain passing therethrough and which may be used independently or incombination with a storage bin grain dryer or grain spreader as desired.The cleaner includes a housing having a scroll means therein andincluding a vibrating screen means positioned over the scroll means. Arotating fan means is positioned in the scroll means and is adapted todischarge the material dropping through said screen means outwardly ofthe housing. The material passing from the outer end of the screen meansis discharged from the lower end of the housing.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a grain cleanerwhich separates the fines from the grain being cleaned.

A further object of this invention is to provide a grain cleaner whichseparates the trash from the grain being cleaned.

A further object of this invention is to provide a grain cleaner havinga spout means associated therewith which may be adjusted to insure thatthe incoming grain will be uniformly distributed upon the shaking screenof the grain cleaner.

A further object of this invention is to provide a grain cleaner havinga removable perforated shaking screen so that the grain cleaner may beused for a variety of different grains.

A further object of this invention is to provide a grain cleaner whichmay be used by itself or in combination with a storage bin grain cleaneror a grain spreader if desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a grain cleaner having aselfadjusting belt tensioning means thereon.

A further object of this invention is to provide a grain cleaner whichis economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

This invention consists in the construction, arrangements, andcombination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objectscontemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth,specifically pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a storage bin illustrating the grain cleaner ofthis invention being mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view as would be seen on line 2 2 ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view as would be seen online 3 3 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view as would be seen on line 4 4 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view as would be seen on the line 5 5of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view as would be seen on line 6 6 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view as would be seen on line 7 7 of FIG. 6.

Patented Dec. 24, 1968 ice The grain cleaner of this invention isgenerally designated by the reference numeral 10 and includes a housing11 supported by a plurality of downwardly depending legs 13. Housing 11is comprised of a hollow cylindrical body portion 15 and a hollow funnelportion 17 secured to the lower end thereof.

A plurality of braces 19 are secured to the upper interior surface ofbody portion 15 by bolts or the like and extend radially inwardlytherefrom. Braces 21 overlap and are secured to each of the inner ends0f braces 19 by bolt 23 extending therethrough. A bearing means 25 issecured to the inner ends of braces 21 by bolts 26. As best seen in FIG.7, bearing means 25 rotatably receives the upper end of a shaft 27. Y

An eccentrically drilled bushing 29 is mounted on shaft 27 at a pointbelow bearing means 25 and is prevented from movement thereon by setscrew 31. A collar 33 rotatably embraces bushing 29 and is preventedfrom downward movement with respect thereto by its lower end engagingshoulder 35 on bushing 29. A support plate 37 embraces collar 33 and issecured thereto by welding or the like. A perforated screen 39 having asubstantially conical shape is welded to support plate 37 and extendsdownwardly and outwardly therefrom.

A plurality of brackets 41 are secured to the inner wall surface of bodyportion 15 by any convenient means and includes vertical portions 43 and45 and a horizontal portion 47 extending between the upper ends thereof.A scroll support 49 is secured at its opposite ends to body portion 15by bolts or the like and extends across the width thereof as best seenin FIG. 7. A pan shaped scroll 51 is secured to scroll support 49 bybolts 53 and includes a base portion 55 and an upstanding wall portion57. Scroll 51 and scroll support 49 are provided with suitable centralopenings through which shaft 27 extends. A bearing means 57 is bolted tothe bottom of scroll support 49 and operatively engages shaft 27 toprevent longitudinal movement of shaft 27 in conventional fashion. Apulley 59 is secured to the lower end of shaft 27 by means of set screw61 at a point below bearing means 57.

A fan hub means 63 is secured to shaft 27 at a point above base portion55 of scroll 51 by means of set screw 65 and includes a at base portion67 extending horizontally outwardly therefrom. A fan backing plate 69 issecured to base portion 67 of fan hub means 63 by bolts 71, and as seenin FIG. 7, is slightly smaller in diameter than scroll 51. A plurality0f fan blades 73 are secured to the upper surface of fan backing plate69 and extends outwardly from fan hub means 63 in a radial manner asbest seen in FIG. 6. As best seen in FIG. 7, the upper ends of each ofthe fan `blades 73 taper downwardly from their outer to their inner endsrespectively. A flat circular band 75 is secured to the upper outer endsof each of the fan blades 73 and extends therearound as best seen inFIG. 6.

A iin means 77 is secured to the bottom surface of fan backing plate 69by welding or the like as best seen in FIG. 7. The upper end ofupstanding wall portion 57 of scroll 51 is secured to each of thevertical portions 45 of the brackets 41 by any suitable means such as arivet, bolt or the like. A discharge spout 79 extends from theupstanding wall portion 57 of scroll 51 outwardly through cylindricalbody portion 15 of housing 11 as best seen in FIG. 6. Wall portion 57 ofscroll 51 is provided with a suitable opening formed therein so that theinterior of discharge spout 79 is in communication with the interior ofscroll 51.

A plurality of spaced apart, case-hardened, angular wear plates 81 aresecured to the lower end of screen 39 by welding as best seen in FIG. 3and are adapted to engage and slide upon horizontal portion 47 of eachof the brackets 41. The length of each f the wear plates 81 is greaterthan the width of the horizontal portion 47 of the bracket 41 upon whichthey rest. At least one of the wear plates 81 is provided withdownwardly extending lugs 83 and 85 secured thereto by Welding or thelike at opposite ends thereof. Lugs 83 and 85 extend downwardly past theopposite sides of horizontal portion of bracket 41. A spring 87 issecured to body portion 15 and screen 39 and extends therebetween asbest seen in FIG. 6 to yieldably resist the movement of screen 39 in onedirection.

A pair of spaced apart motor support brackets 89 and 91 are secured tobody portion 15 by bolts, rivets or the like and extend across the widthof housing 11 as best seen in FIG. 4. As seen in FIG. 5, an electricalmotor 93 is bolted to motor support brackets 89 and 91 which are angularin cross-section. A pulley 95 is secured to motor support bracket 91adjacent one end thereof by a bolt 97. An idler pulley bracket 99 isslidably mounted on motor support bracket 89 as best illustrated in FIG.5 and has a pulley 101 secured thereto by a bolt 103. A spring 105 -issecured to body portion 15 and idler pulley support bracket 99 andextends therebetween as best Seen in FIG. 4 to yieldably urge idlerpulley support bracket 99 towards the left as viewed in FIG. 4. A drivebelt 107 extends around pulleys 95, 101, 59 and motor pulley 109 asillustrated in FIG. 4. The drive belt 107 has not been shown in FIGS.and 7.

A hollow cylindrical spout 111 is vertically adjustably secured to theupper end of housing 11 and is provided with a plurality of verticallydisposed slots 113 extending upwardly from the lower end thereof. Anangular plate 115 is secured to spout 111 by Welding adjacent each ofthe slots 113 and has a portion 117 extending inwardly therethrough asbest illustrated in FIG. 2. Spout 111 is secured to housing 11 by meansof the portions 117 of plates 115 being received between the overlappingbraces 19 and 21 (FIG. 2). The tightening of bolts 23 maintains portion117 between braces 19 and 21 thereby preventing movement of spout 111with respect to housing 11. Spout 111 can be vertically adjusted withrespect to screen 39 by simply loosening bolts 23 in each of theoverlapping braces 19 and 21 and moving spout 1v11 to the desiredposition and then again tightening bolts 23.

In FIG. 1, the numeral 119 designates a storage bin having an accessopening 121 formed in its upper end. A conventional grain dryer 123 ofthe forced air type is in communication with the interior of bin 119 andforces air thereinto which will pass through the grain within bin 119and be discharged outwardly through access opening 121. FIG. l alsoillustrates a discharge chute 125 which is operatively connected todischarge spout 79 and extends therefrom to a suitable receptacle suchas a wagon 127. The numeral 129 in FIG. 1 designates a grain conveyormeans which is adapted to deposit grain within the upper end of spout111.

The normal method of operation is as follows. As previously stated, thegrain cleaner may be used by itself, in the environment seen in FIG. l,or with a grain spreader positioned therebelow.

The spout 11t1 is rst vertically adjusted as previously described toinsure that the grain passing therethrough will be uniformly depositedon the shaking tscreen 39. Obviously, spout 111 can be verticallyadjusted to permit the gra-in cleaner 10 to beused for a variety ofdifferent grains. 'Ihe Kgrain cleaner will function without spout 111mounted thereon but the eiciency thereof is reduced by the omissionthereof. As also previously described, screen 39 can be constructed of amesh type screen or of a perforated metal material, the latter beingpreferred. The mesh or perforations of screen 39 can be varied to permitthe cleaner to be used for a variety of different grains.

The energizing of motor 93 causes shaft 27 to be rotated by means ofdrive belt 107 which extends around 4 pulleys 109, 95, 59 and 101.Spring 105 yieldably urges idler pulley support bracket 99 away frompulleys 59 and 109 to maintain the proper tension on the drive belt 107.It can be appreciated that spring 105 will compensate for drive beltwear and it is not necessary to constantly tighten the drive belt as thesame wears.

The rotation of shaft 27 causes fan backing plate 69 to be rotatedWithin scroll 51 and hence fan blades 73 which are secured thereto. Therotation of shaft 27 also causes screen 39 to be shaken or oscillateddue to the eccentrically drilled bushing 29 which is secured to shaft 27as previously described. The rotation of shaft 27 would normally tend tocause the revolution of screen 39, however, such rotation is limited bythe lugs 83 and on wear plates 81 engaging brackets 41. Thus, shaft 27will rotate screen 37 in one direction against the force of spring I87until lug 85 engages one side of horizontal portion 47 of bracket 41.'Spring 87 then returns screen 39 to its original position so that lug83 engages the other side of the horizontal portion 47 of bracket 41. Itcan be appreciated that the cooperation of shaft 27, eccentricallydrilled bushing 29, bushing 33, plate 37, lugs 83 and 85, and spring 87causes screen 39 to be oscillated, vibrated or shaken.

The grain to be cleaned is deposited into the upper end of spout 111 andpasses onto the vibrating screen 39 into scroll 51. The fines dropthrough screen 39 into scroll 51. The rotating fan blades 73 cause thefines to be discharged from the cleaner through discharge spout 79. Thegrain, which is of sutlicient size to prevent its passage through screen39, passes from the lower end of the screen 39 and falls downwardly fromthe cleaner through the open lower end of funnel portion 17. Pin 77which is secured to the bottom of fan backing plate 69 tends to preventundesirable material from becoming lodged between fan backing plate 69and base portion 55 of scroll 51.

The rotating fan assembly creates a certain amount of back pressure,that is, upwardly moving air within housing 11. The upwardly moving airtends to blow any trash present in the grain upwardly from the upper endof housing 11. The fines can be collected by merely securing a suitablechute means to the outer end of discharge spout 79. Thus it can be seenthat the grain cleaner separates the lines and trash from the grainthereby cleaning the grain.

The grain cleaner 10 may be secured to the upper end of a storage bin119 by simply securing the lower ends of legs 13 to the roof thereof.The conveyor means 129 deposits the grain to be cleaned within spout111. The environment of FIG. 1 permits a greater amount of trash to beseparated from the grain due to the 4grain dryer 123 forcing airoutwardly from the interior of the bin 119 through access opening 121.The upwardly moving air supplements the back pressure created by the fanassembly and thereby causes even more eilicient separation of the trashfrom the grain. The chute means 127 is connected to the discharge spout79 thereby permitting the collecting of the nes within wagon 127.

Thus it can be seen that the device accomplishes at least all of itsstated objectives.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my graincleaner without departing from the real spirit and purpose of myinvention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modifiedforms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may bereasonably included Within their scope.

I claim:

1. In a grain cleaner,

a housing having upper and lower ends,

a scroll means mounted within said housing between the upper and lowerends thereof, said scroll means having a diameter less than the diameterof said housing,

a vertically disposed shaft rotatably mounted in said housing having itslower end extending through said scroll means and having its upper endpositioned above said scroll means,

a fan means secured to said shaft for rotation therewith within saidscroll means,

said scroll having a discharge means extending therefrom incommunication with the interior thereof, said discharge means extendingoutwardly through said housing,

a power means operative connected to said shaft to cause rotationthereof,

a screen means operatively connected to said shaft above said scrollmeans,

and means operatively connected to said screen means causing oscillationthereof,

said screen means being substantially conical shaped having an upper endoperatively movably connected to said shaft, said screen means having alower end terminating outwardly of said scroll means between said scrollmeans and the interior of said housing whereby grain of a predeterminedparticle size will drop through said screen means into said scroll meansand will be discharged outwardly therefrom by said fan means throughsaid discharge means and whereby grain of a predetermined particle sizewill pass from the lower end of said screen means between said scrollmeans and said housing and will discharge from the lower end of saidhousing.

2. The cleaner of claim 1 wherein a pair of spaced apart power meanssupport brackets are secured to said housing and extend thereacross,said power means being secured to said support brackets, a irst pulleysecured to one of said support brackets, an idler pulley support bracketslidably mounted on the other support bracket, a spring meansoperatively secured to said housing and said idler pulley supportbracket and extending therebetween normally urging said idler pulleysupport bracket away from said power means, an idler pulley rotatablysecured to said idler pulley support bracket, a second pulley secured tothe power shaft of said power means, a third pulley secured to the lowerend of said vertically disposed shaft, and a belt means extending aroundsaid rst, second, and third idler pulleys.

3. The cleaner of claim 1 wherein said means operatively connected tosaid screen means causing oscillation thereof includes an eccentricmeans secured to said screen means and said shaft, and a stop meanssecured to the lower end of said screen means operatively engaging saidhousing.

4. The cleaner of claim 3 wherein a spring means is operativelyconnected to said housing and said screen means and extendstherebetween, said spring means normally resisting the movement of saidscreen means in one direction with respect to said housing.

5. The cleaner of claim 1 wherein said scroll means includes a atcircular bottom having a vertical side wall extending upwardlytherefrom, said fan means including a fan backing plate secured to saidshaft and spaced above said scroll bottom, said fan backing plate havinga plurality of fan blades extending upwardly therefrom.

6. The cleaner of claim 5 wherein said fan backing plate has a tin meanssecured thereto which is positioned between said backing plate and saidscroll bottom to prevent material from becoming lodged between the fanbacking plate and the scroll bottom.

7. In combination,

a storage bin having an upper access opening,

a grain dryer means in communication with the interior of said storagebin adapted to supply air to the interior thereof which is dischargedthrough said access opening,

a grain cleaner secured to said storage bin having a lower end incommunication with said access opensaid grain cleaner including ahousing having upper and lower ends, a scroll means mounted within saidhousing between the upper and lower ends thereof, said scroll meanshaving a diameter less than the diameter of said housing, `a verticallydisposed shaft rotatably mounted in said housing having its lower endextending through said scroll means and having its upper end positionedabove s aid scroll means, a fan means secured to said shaft for rotationtherewith within said scroll means, said scroll having a discharge meansextending therefrom in communication with the interior thereof, saiddischarge means extending outwardly through said housing, a power meansoperatively connected to said shaft to cause rotation thereof, a screenmeans operatively connected to said shaft above said scroll means, andmeans operatively connected to said screen means causing oscillationthereof,

said screen -means depositing grain of a predetermined size into saidscroll means, the air being discharged through said access opening bysaid grain dryer means separating foreign material from the grain withinsaid housing and causing the discharge thereof from the upper end ofsaid housing.

8. In a grain cleaner,

a housing having upper and lower ends,

a scroll means mounted within said housing between the upper and lowerends thereof, said scroll means having a diameter less than the diameterof said housing,

a vertically disposed shaft rotatably mounted in said housing having itslower end extending through said scroll means and having its upper endpositioned above said scroll means,

a fan means secured to said shaft for rotation therewith within saidscroll means,

said scroll having a discharge means extending therefrom incommunication with the interior thereof, said discharge means extendingoutwardly through said housing,

a power means operatively connected to said shaft to cause rotationthereof,

a screen means operatively connected to said shaft above said scrollmeans,

and means operatively connected to said screen means causing oscillationthereof,

said screen means being substantially concial shaped and having an upperend operatively movably connected to said shaft, said screen meanshaving a lower end terminating outwardly of said scroll means,

said means operatively connected to said screen means causingoscillation thereof including an eccentric means secured to said screenmeans and said shaft, and a stop means secured to the lower end of saidscreen means operatively engaging said housing,

said housing being provided with a plurality of brackets secured theretoand extending inwardly therefrom, said stop means engaging said bracketsto limit the movement of said screen means in two directions withrespect to said housing.

9. The cleaner of claim 8 wherein said stop means consists of lugsextending downwardly from a wear plate secured to said screen means,said lugs extending downwardly at opposite sides of said brackets.

a fan means secured to said shaft for rotation therewith within saidscroll means,

said scroll having a discharge means extending therefrom incommunication with the interior thereof, said discharge means extendingoutwardly through said housing,

a power means operatively connected to said shaft to cause rotationthereof,

a screen means operatively connected to said shaft above said scrollmeans,

and means operatively connected to said screen means causing oscillationthereof,

a pair of spaced apart power means support brackets secured to saidhousing and extending thereacross,

said power means being secured to said support brackets, a Iirst pulleysecured to one of said support vbrackets, an idler pulley supportbracket slidably mounted on the other support bracket, a spring meansoperatively secured to said housing and said idler pulley supportbracket and extending therebetween normally urging said idler pulleysupport bracket away from said power means, an idler pulley rotatablysecured to said idler pulley support bracket,

a second pulley secured to the power shaft of said power means, a thirdpulley secured to the lower end of said vertically disposed shaft, and abelt means extending around said first, second, and third idler pulleys.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS HARRY B. THORNTON, PrimaryExaminer.

TIM R. MILES, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 209-366, 279, 138

